Maturango Open Artists Studio Tour exhibit opens tonight

Friday

Oct 4, 2013 at 11:55 AM

The reception for the 10th Annual Artists’ Open Studio Tour exhibit in the Maturango Museum is tonight. The tour, Oct. 26-27, offers an otherwise rare behind-the-scenes look at the places local artists who use a variety of mediums create and hone their craft.

By Mike BodineSTAFF WRITERmbodine@ridgecrestca.com

The reception for the 10th Annual Artists’ Open Studio Tour exhibit in the Maturango Museum is tonight. The tour, Oct. 26-27, offers an otherwise rare behind-the-scenes look at the places local artists who use a variety of mediums create and hone their craft. All 28 artists and more will have their work on display, and for sale, at the Sylvia Winslow Gallery from now until Nov. 5. An artist reception and opening will start at 7 p.m. tonight. The reception is free and open to the public.The popular self-guided studio tour will include 28 artists, Burroughs High School, DART’s Artists on the Edge, and Cerro Coso Community College. Burroughs will only be open Saturday. There are 28 artist but not 28 individual studios. Some artists share studio space and tours of the schools and at DART will have many artists on display. But, it is rare for one person to cover every stop in two days — there's just so much to see.Some of the artists on the tour are Angeli Githens, Andrea Pelch, Laura Arns, Betty Spindler, Jerry Bradley, Charlotte Carroll, Cheryl McDonald, Debbie Benson, Donnie Woods, Greg Gilbert, Marcy Holbrook, Jodi Ostrum, Julie VonSchlemmer, Larry Sawyer, Lois Hinman, Mike Mumford, Su Tipton, Helen Baker and Nancy Crawford. Lois Hinman, Ridgecrest local since 1972, said she has been making "Distinctive Functional Pottery" since 1976 and painting "Vibrant Oil Paintings" since 1992. She moved into a bigger studio last year to accommodate the pottery classes she has been teaching since 2006. “I will have 3 of my current students demonstrating wheel-throwing and trimming during the Open Studio Tour, so visitors will be able to see how pottery is made and where it is fired. I have a 120-square-foot kiln yard with 4 large kilns, 1 electric powered and 3 powered by natural gas,” she said.For more about Hinman's work go to www.loishinman.com.Hinman has not only participated in all 10 tours, but is credited with spearheading the event.Kim Angeli Githens works in many mediums, charcoal, pencil and acrylic. She makes tile pictures, handmade vessels out of clay, and oil paintings. An artist since age 12, Githens has studied music and art and is currently working on a degree from Cerro Coso Community College. She was assistant to Professor Dick Benson for a few years at Cerro Coso and was curator for the summer shows at the college. “I am proud of the first time Cerro Coso Community College gave away money for first prize in ceramics - a piece of mine I made from scratch,” Githens said, “I will be showing off my newest oil paintings, and some of my older work of handmade art pieces made of clay. I want people to watch for the spectacular and colorful oil paintings I have come up with this year. They are so very beautiful. One oil painting will be shown off in the museum this year.”“My work is the result of an ongoing struggle between my right and left brain,” sculptor Jerry Bradley said. “The two opposing forces are working together better than before. Hopefully, they will coexist with even more harmony in the future, resulting in continually improving pieces of art. I am merely a passenger, along for the ride, who is quite pleased with the journey so far.”His one-of-a-kind pieces made of wood or ceramics are a mix of three-dimensional computer-added software and his own creativity.More artists will be featured in coming editions of The Daily Independent.“This is a wonderful way for local artists to receive recognition and be a part of an experience that celebrates them, their work and the places where their imagination takes form,” the museum said on its website.Tickets are $10 and includes a map of the studios and hours they will be open for tours. There will be raffle for a $100 museum store gift certificate to commemorate the tour's 10-year anniversary. The store is full of T-shirts, maps, really cool toys for all ages and books on history or guides for exploring the area.Tickets are now on sale at the Maturango Museum for the Open Studio Tour 2013. The tour will be held on the weekend of October 26 & 27, 2013 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day. For more information call (760) 375-6900 or go to maturango.org.